Tenerife medics poised for arrival of virus-hit cruise ship

BBC's Sarah Rainsford reports from the port in Tenerife where the MV Hondius is soon to dock, after a deadly hantavirus outbreak. Tenerife medics poised for arrival of virus-hit cruise ship Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. A cargo ship sits in the industrial port of Granadilla, Tenerife The industrial port of Granadilla, Tenerife. Southern and Eastern Europe correspondent Almost a month after the first passenger died of the hantavirus on board the MV Hondius cruise ship, it is finally approaching Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Intensive preparations have been under way to receive the ship in the port of Granadilla and help more than 100 people onto shore to be repatriated. The Hondius is expected to arrive in the area before dawn but even now it won't be permitted to reach shore: a security perimeter of one nautical mile will be enforced around the ship as it approaches the island. Once in the port, it will drop anchor at sea to ensure its continuing isolation. The complex operation to prevent the rare Andes strain of this virus spreading is described by Spain's health minister as "unprecedented". Involving 23 countries, it has been meticulously planned for maximum safety and to answer the concerns of disgruntled locals. They include the president of the Canary Islands, who says he "won't be calm" until all the passengers and crew have left. "The risk of contagion for the general population is low," health minister Mónica García repeated on Saturday. "We believe that alarmism, misinformation and confusion are contrary to the basic principles of preserving public health." Security measures in the port, an industrial facility in the south of Tenerife, increased notably on Saturday. Spain's military police and disaster response teams have both set up large reception tents and access to the waterfront is restricted. Once the Hondius has been manoeuvred into place, by around 07:00 (06:00 GMT) on Sunday, medical teams will board to check everyone for signs of the virus. Latest reports say nobody else is showing symptoms. Map showing the route of the cruise ship MV Hondius across the South Atlantic Ocean with a timeline of incidents. The ship departs Ushuaia, Argentina on 1 April. On 11 April, the first passenger dies at sea. The route continues north east toward Africa. On 24 April, the wife of the deceased passenger is flown from St Helena to South Africa. A marker near South Africa notes: 26 April, a woman dies in Johannesburg; 27 April, a second sick passenger is flown to hospital. On 2 May, another passenger dies onboard. On 3 May, the ship arrives at Cape Verde. A final note indicates the ship is due to arrive in Tenerife on 10 May. The route is shown as a red line with arrows and black dots marking key locations. People will then be divided into groups by nationality and ferried to the coast in small boats. By then, charter planes should be on the tarmac at the local airport, ready to repatriate them. Earlier on Saturday, the interior minister said the UK, US and multiple EU member states were all sending planes. Medically-equipped aircraft will be on standby, too, should anyone need to be taken into isolation. Otherwise, the Spanish nationals will be flown to Madrid, where they face a mandatory quarantine in the Gomez Ulla military hospital. Complete isolation would be gruelling - the virus has an incubation period of up to nine weeks - and it is not clear how long people in Spain or elsewhere will be quarantined. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, now in Tenerife to oversee the disembarking, has praised the authorities for their "solid and effective response" to this outbreak. It has been linked to a landfill site in the southernmost tip of Argentina, popular with birdwatchers. The virus is carried there by rodents, and it's rare for it to pass between people, but three cruise passengers have died. So the WHO boss has urged nervous Spaniards to trust those in charge of the evacuation. "Your concern is legitimate, because of the experience of Covid: that trauma is still in our minds," he acknowledged. But he added that the risk of wider contagion now was low "because of how the virus works, and because of how the Spanish government has prepared to avoid any problem". Chief intensive care doctor Mar Martin with an intensive care bed at the Candelaria hospital A doctor with white glasses and long brown hair smiles. She stands in a medical facility with a hospital bed next to her and two screens with several wires around them behind her. Dozens of intensive care specialists are on stand-by at the Candelaria hospital in Tenerife in case anyone from the Hondius becomes seriously ill during the transfer. A strict isolation facility has one bed fully equipped to deal with infectious diseases, complete with testing kit and a ventilator. "We are absolutely ready," chief intensive care doctor Mar Martin told me on the unit, where large numbers of protective suits, masks and gloves are already piled up for staff. "We've never seen [hantavirus] before – but it's a virus, with some complications, just like we manage every day. We are fully trained for that." There was some anger here when people learned the Hondius was being diverted to their island. On Friday, a group of port workers gathered outside the local parliament in noisy protest, concerned that safety measures were not strong enough. Two grey masks are displayed in a rack with clear panels for the face. ​"The virus is dangerous, of course. But they say you need to have very close contact to get it," Jennifer told me, out walking with her child in Tenerife's capital Santa Cruz. "If we're careful, we hope it's not too serious." Others were annoyed that Madrid had decided to send the Hondius here - a political concern, rather than a medical one. Some recalled how officials had once made reassuring noises about Covid, too, before the pandemic took hold. "If they don't come here from the ship, then we're fine," Esteban told me. "If the measures are adequate, then I don't think people here are worried," his partner Isabel agreed. Not everyone will disembark in Tenerife from the Hondius: some 30 crew members will stay on board to take the cruise ship back to the Netherlands. But for most, there is at last an end in sight to weeks of fear and uncertainty at sea. MV Hondius (pictured on 4 May) was not allowed to dock in Cape Verde MV Hondius docked off Cape Verde on 4 May A person in protective clothing walks next to an ambulance during an evacuation operation of suspected hantavirus patients, following an outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius, in Praia, Cape Verde, May 6, 2026 How worried should we be about hantavirus? An aerial view of the cruise ship MV Hondius stationary off the port of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde. Photo: 5 May 2026 Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship not start of pandemic, UN health agency says People wearing personal protective clothing disembark a plane. Worldwide race to trace passengers from hantavirus-hit cruise ship "This is not another Covid," Tedros Ghebreyesus tells islanders before MV Hondius docks on Sunday. Some on the Spanish island worry the imminent arrival of the MV Hondius could pose a health risk. The BBC's Guy Hedgecoe reports from Tenerife, where some locals fear the ship's arrival could bring health risks. The MV Hondius is expected to dock in the Canary Islands this weekend. Officials say at least six US states are monitoring for possible cases after several passengers from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius returned home. The Lucy Rayner Foundation is hoping to build a new mental health centre in Horley. Actor Nick Frost and musicians James Bay and David Gray donate art to the Cliftonville event. Kate Turner was shocked to be able to hear birdsong, typing on a keyboard and her car's indicator.